Murder in Mineral Town
by Gomamon
Summary: Mary was having a perfectly normal day until her mother was found dead at the Town Square. Now all the villagers in Mineral Town are possible suspects. Who killed Anna? FoMT
1. Anna

**Murder in Mineral Town**  
By: Gomamon

**Chapter 1 – Anna**

There was an air of eerie silence that filled every corner of the library, a sound that Mary was used to hearing in her everyday routine. She didn't seem to mind the lack of companionship around her. Unaccompanied by those meddlesome villagers who was feverishly fascinated with drivel gossips that heavily polluted the town, Mary enjoyed being in the library all by herself. Most of the uneducated villagers would feel lonely, or even helplessly trapped if they had to spend more than an hour inside the library. But Mary was different; she had always been a different girl.

A black notebook rested lifelessly on her desk, as Mary stared vacantly at its blank pages. She held a blue ink in her hand, uncertain what words to put on the ivory paper. It wasn't because she lacked the poetic words or the creative imagination, but there were just too many thoughts in her head that Mary didn't know where to begin.

Finally, she wrote:

_A tender heart is only meant to be broken,_  
_I pity the fools who believe in eternal love…_

Mary sighed, slowly closing her notebook. She couldn't do this right now, for it was too depressing to reflect her feelings in these insolent words. Taking a brief glance at the brown wooden clock on the wall, she realized that Gray would soon be arriving. Mary smiled softly at the thought, appreciating the loyal companionship that Gray provided everyday after work. The shy, bumbling yet awkwardly cute blonde shared the same rare enjoyment for books as Mary did, but it was tricky to discuss what exactly their complex relationship was like. They didn't go out or date, like many of the other couples did. Gray and Mary just liked hanging around with each other, in the library, with a good book.

"He is a nice boy, Mary." Her mother had told her yesterday night, running a hand through her daughter's braided hair. "Don't lose him before it's too late."

She then took a long drag of her cigarette, exhaling a foggy ring of smoke right in front of Mary's face.

"Mother, you haven't smoked for years…"

"I need something to make me feel good about myself because nothing around here does!" Her tone of voice suddenly grew very sharp and unnaturally harsh. Seconds later, Mary saw tears running down her mother's weathered and once-beautiful face.

"Oh Mother…please don't cry...Mother, please don't cry again…"

Mary woke up from her thoughts when a sound of the library door opening alarmed her. She smiled softly, expecting to meet Gray, so she was surprised and slightly puzzled when she saw Mayor Thomas at the door instead.

But something was wrong. The normally jovial face of Thomas was nowhere to be seen. His nose was redder than usual, and behind his tiny glasses, Mary could see that his beady black eyes were wet and teary. Has he been crying?

"Mary…your m-mother is…d-dead…s-somebody found her b-body at the Town Square. We think she was m-murdered…"

- - -

Anna was dead.

Her body was found lying lifelessly on the pavement of the Town Square. A fatal bullet wound was found in the left side of her chest, causing her to die instantly on the spot when the bullet penetrated through her heart organ. Strangely enough, they couldn't find any trace of blood anywhere in the Town Square at all. Somebody had treated and cleaned her gun wound so that it would stop bleeding, shortly before this person carried her body all the way to the Town Square. Evidently, it was not her original scene of death.

She must have died for several hours before her body was found. At exactly two o'clock, a terrified Sasha discovered the lifeless body of her best friend in the Town Square. She had been anxiously expecting to gossip with Anna about the latest conversation she overheard between Lillia and Zack, just like every other Saturday afternoon that they shared. Imagine her horror to stumble onto the scene of a ruthless murder…

Who the murderer is, nobody knows. The killer could be any villager in Mineral Town unless they've got a proper alibi. Until then, everybody is a suspect.

News traveled fast in tiny Mineral Town, especially with a nosy gossip butterfly named Manna around, flapping her imaginary wings to every house in town and spreading the news. It didn't take long before all the villagers were informed of Anna's murder. Some found it fascinating, while others thought it was terrifying, but no matter what they felt, there was definitely a huge stir of reactions about the death. As the pastor of this town, Carter felt obligated to at least pay Mary a visit in the clinic. It was rumoured that the poor girl had fainted at the sight of her mother's dead body several hours ago. But more interestingly enough, her sleazy father Basil was nowhere to be seen.

Illuminated by a set of weak fluorescent lights, the clinic felt more or less like an abandoned cemetery. Carter absolutely dreaded coming here on any occasion, but the circumstances were different this time. He could imagine how devastated Mary was, to be leading a perfectly normal life until everything was turned upside down in mere seconds. What she needed most now was a comforting voice of guidance and a crying shoulder, and Carter was there to provide it for her.

"Carter. You came," said Elli the nurse, snivelling softly. "The Doctor and Harris are asking some questions right now."

Carter sat down on a yellow sofa, spacing himself beside Elli. Slowly, he turned his head towards her, carrying a mildly concerned expression. "Are you feeling alright?"

Elli dabbed her eyes with a white handkerchief, while Carter reached out his hand to pat her on the back.

"Yes, thank you." Elli responded dully. She took a deep long sigh. "I just can't believe that Anna is dead. It's awful, Carter. It's _so_ awful."

"It is very sad. Nobody wanted it to happen," said Carter earnestly.

"Well, somebody must have," said Elli, sounding slightly defiant in her tone of voice. "She was murdered, brutally murdered."

Carter closed his eyes, mumbling in agreement.

The white clinic doors slammed open unexpectedly, crashing into the walls. Standing at the doorway was a bearded madman, whose fists were clenched so tightly and angrily that he almost looked like he was about to attack the nearest thing in sight. Elli's first reaction was to run far and away, but it took her a second and much more watchful look before she vaguely recognized the strange lunatic man as Basil, the loving father of Mary and husband of Anna.

"WHERE IS MY DAUGHTER?" Basil screamed hysterically, not acknowledging the presence of Elli or Carter at all. "WHERE IS MARY?"

"Calm down, Basil! She's fine! Mary is fine!" Carter replied, struggling to restrain Basil as he tried to barge inside one of the clinic rooms.

Never having seen Basil in this distressed state before, Elli was quite surprised that she almost didn't recognize the suave and handsome botanist who normally looked very composed. With his raven brown hair scruffy, his chin unshaven, his fingernails dirty and his best clothes ragged, this man resembled nothing like the once and mighty Basil that could have women swooning over him at the snap of a finger. This was also the first time that Elli noticed the spidery wrinkles near the corners of his dark brown eyes. It was the first time she had seen Basil without him keeping up a false appearance.

Elli wrinkled her nose at the strong smell of alcohol that she highly detested. Has Basil been drinking? Drinking in the middle of the day?

She could still remember when Basil's family first arrived to Mineral Town. The three of them resembled the perfect loving family that was the golden envy all across town. Everybody had high hopes for their gifted daughter Mary, who was predicted to soar high and achieve an unbelievably bright future ahead. It also seemed like that Basil and Anna defined what a happy marriage should look like, with their constant signs of affection for each other. In the early ears, the loving couple could hardly be seen around town without holding hands or constantly kissing each other. Everybody could see it in their eyes that they were genuinely in love.

But as most marriages commonly went, their love for each other gradually wore down over the next several years. Much like his workaholic daughter Mary, Basil trapped himself inside a burdened cage of endless work. He spent days locked inside his house to work on a bestseller novel, while sneaking off at nights to socialize with the men in the pub. His wife also shaped her schedule without her husband, finding other sources of entertainment for fulfillment and joy. Seldom could anybody see Basil around town anymore, and even rarer to see Basil and Anna together. And now, Elli could see just how much emptiness and heartlessness there were in Basil's eyes. It was almost as if all the love he had for Anna had been drained away…

"What the hell is going on?" Harris asked gruffly, emerging from one of the rooms. He pointed his humungous nose disapprovingly at Basil's presence. Now that a murderer was on the loose, Harris was no longer the jolly policeman that everybody was so used to knowing. Since he was the only law enforcement officer in town, it was solely his responsibility to capture the killer until the city police arrived for investigation.

Basil charged towards the police officer at the end of the hallway, shouting something illegible to the common ear. Harris reacted quickly, drawing his gun from his belt. At the sight of the policeman's deadly weapon, the wise Basil cautiously slowed down his pace.

"Basil." Harris said, nodding his head slowly. The tip of his gun was only inches away from Basil's forehead. "Just the man I was looking for."

"Put that gun down! What's the meaning of this, Harris?"

"You're under arrest for suspicion of murder," said Harris in a calm and clear voice. His hand held the gun firmly, fingers lingering dangerously around the trigger. Just one pull and Basil could drop dead to the floor.

Basil looked and sounded flabbergasted. Failing to find the right words to defend himself, the botanist frantically gestured 'no' with both of his hands.

"Mary, your daughter, had told me that you and your wife had an argument last night. I believe that led to you storming out of the house in rage, leaving Anna in tears. You haven't returned to the house since," Harris continued.

"How could you accuse me for killing my own wife? Anna was my wife! She-"

Harris abruptly interrupted the botanist's emotional slur of words. "Mary also said that this was the fifth argument you had this week with your wife. Anna even threatened you with divorce, didn't she?"

"This is a misunderstanding! She just didn't want me to go to the bar yesterday night! I would've never killed my own wife!" Basil angrily shouted. "I…I…I loved Anna!"

"Let's have a talk, Basil." Harris said, slowly pulling his gun away. "Let's have a serious talk at my house."

Reluctantly, Basil dragged his feet across the floor towards the exit. Harris followed closely behind him, grasping tightly over Basil's arm with one hand and a tighter grip around his gun in the other. As they leave the clinic, a long uncomfortable moment of silence filled the room, when nobody dared to speak another word. Besides the dull mechanical buzzing of the ceiling fan, Elli could hear the faint miserable sobs coming from Mary's room.

Collapsing onto the sofa beside Carter, Elli looked very dumbfounded at the sudden turn of events. Hours ago, Mary was leading a perfectly normal, if somewhat unhappy life. But a fierce tornado of misery struck, leaving her with a dead mother and a father who was accused of being the murderer. Right in front of her helpless weeping eyes, her once-perfect family was shattered forever.

Elli suddenly wanted nothing more but to run home and tell her family how much she loved them.

**To Be Continued**

**Author's Note:** Thanks for reading the first part of this six-part mystery! Many new suspects and seemingly unsolvable mysteries to come! As for the story itself, I hope the tone isn't too dark and the plot isn't too confusing. I've been working this story bit by bit ever since I started watching Veronica Mars. Blame them!


	2. Basil

**Murder in Mineral Town**  
By: Gomamon

**Chapter 2 – Basil**

Jack woke up at six o'clock, just like he did in every typical morning. There were chickens to be fed, crops to be watered and livestock to be taken care of. He never once complained about the loads of work that he was expected to do though. He loved his job, he really did. One might expect a farmer's life to be dull and repetitive with all its daily routines, but Jack has been living in his farm long enough to realize about the many surprises that came along with his job.

So it didn't faze him at all to see Harris standing by his house this morning, looking very weathered and exhausted. He could only be here for one reason only, and it wasn't a happy occasion. Yesterday, Anna's body was found in the Town Square, with a vicious bullet wound through her chest. The murderer escaped from justice, so all of the villagers are still possible suspects. Even though Jack wasn't particularly close with Anna, he definitely didn't wish death upon _anybody_ in this village.

"Good morning, Jack." Harris said, stifling a loud yawn as he spoke. "I'm just here to ask you and your wife a few questions, you know."

Jack nodded his head quietly in response. Harris took out his tiny notepad from his breast pocket, scribbling something in its pages.

"Okay. Where were you during the time of 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm yesterday?" Harris asked.

"I was at my farm for the entire day with Ann," replied Jack hastily. "We were at the fields, harvesting some eggplants."

Harris paused and scribbled something in his notepad.

"Did you see anybody or anything suspicious while on the farm?"

"Well, I don't think we saw anybody on the farm…" Jack said slowly, trying to remember the weary events that occurred yesterday. He was so transfixed in the process that he didn't even notice the door to his house was opened, and Ann was stumbling towards him.

"Good morning, Ann." Harris said, saluting her. "How's the baby?"

Ann smiled, gently patting her round stomach. "Great! But I'm feeling quite sick from constantly puking and sleeping all the time."

Finally noticing his wife's presence, Jack immediately rushed over to assist her with the walking. Harris couldn't help but smile enviously at the affectionate newlywed couple. Judging from his compassion and care towards each of his animals, it was no surprise that Jack would make a loving husband, and eventually a fantastic husband as well.

But of course, that was what they all said about Basil when he first moved into town…

"I saw Gray yesterday," said Ann. Harris immediately picked up his pen and messily scrawled in his notebook. "Early yesterday morning, I saw him crossing this farm to reach to the mine. I remember offering him an eggplant for breakfast, but he refused."

"Oh yeah, I forgot about seeing him, looking shady with his hoe and ore basket" said Jack, smacking his forehead lightly.

Harris didn't reply back immediately, finishing his sentence in his notebook before looking up at Jack and Ann again. He managed to flash a forceful smile at them. "So that's about it. Thanks for your help."

"Harris!" Jack suddenly asked as the police officer walked towards the exit. "Is Basil…alright? I heard from Manna that he got arrested."

"Yes, Basil was released just this morning." Harris replied, sounding slightly disappointed with his answer. "It turns out that he was sheltering with Gotz in the mountains for the whole time. Barley found the two men drunk and passed out when he told them about the news of Anna's death."

Ann frowned, lowering her voice to a miserable mumble. "It's so sad. I remember Anna and Basil being such a loving couple so long ago. Oh Jack, I can't imagine how Mary must feel right now. She must be devastated."

Jack nodded his head quietly, wrapping his arms tightly around the pregnant Ann. It was not an easy time for anybody, having to adjust to a recent death in this close-knitted village. After learning about the dying relationship between Basil and Anna, Jack promised himself that he would unconditionally love Ann and their future son.

- - -

It felt out of the ordinary for Cliff to be sitting around a proper dining table, eating a delicious homemade meal that he hadn't had for years ago. He didn't normally stay at the Aja Winery after work, but both Duke and Manna insisted he stay for dinner tonight, a gesture so kind that Cliff simply couldn't refuse. Ever since the death of Anna, they felt the need to tighten their bonds together with family.

He left his home at an early age, wandering aimlessly until he arrived in Mineral Village. He was welcomed warmly by the affectionate villagers, offered a job and even considered as family by his employers. And until yesterday, Cliff thought that Mineral Village was the perfect setting to spend the rest of his life in.

"You know what I heard today?" Manna asked, sounding intrigued with her own question. As usual, she immediately answered her own question, not waiting for a response from the men. "Basil was released this morning! Sasha told me!"

Duke grumbled irritably, playing around with his fork in the plate. "I don't see how you women can still gossip at a time like this."

"I really thought Basil was the one who…you know, did the deed. But apparently, that's not the case at all! He had a proper alibi, supported by both Gotz and Barley," said Manna, completely ignoring her husband's fractious grumbling.

"I didn't think Basil could kill his own wife." Cliff said quietly. "I sometimes see him at the inn, and he doesn't look like that type of man. He was always a family man."

"Oh no, Basil was far from the family-oriented husband you all pictured him to be. He was not the perfect husband with a trophy wife and a scholarly gifted daughter!" Manna laughed bitterly and rolled her eyes. "You should've seen Anna when I visited her house yesterday morning."

Duke was sipping some tea before he immediately spitted it back in his cup. He had to clear his throat several times before regaining the ability to speak again.

"You visited Anna hours before she was murdered?" Duke asked in astonishment.

"Of course, we get together every Saturday morning to share recipes." Manna said, quickly dismissing her husband once again. "Anyway, imagine my surprise to find Anna _bawling_ her eyes out yesterday morning. I was basically her crying shoulder for hours, listening to how she said her _marriage_ with Basil was a total _mistake_! They had a huge row the night before that, did you know?"

Duke raised his eyebrows and muttered, "Wow, I didn't know Anna was unhappy like that…do you think it's possible she might've killed herself? You know, since she was so miserable and everything?"

"No, no, no. You've got it all wrong." Manna said rapidly, clearly enjoying the gossip fest with her husband. "They couldn't find a gun by Anna's body or anywhere else at all. Sasha was there and saw everything. She found the body, after all."

"Anna was shot by a gun?" Cliff asked, in an astounded tone.

"To be more precise, a gunshot right in the chest." Manna shivered, wrapping her arms around her body.

"A gun, are you sure it was a gun?" Cliff repeated his question.

"I'm certain." Manna said, "What a horrible way to die."

"So wait a second…" Duke asked, narrowing his eyes suspiciously at his wife. "You said you were with Anna hours before she died. Then where did you go after that?"

"I went to the Poultry Farm to chat with Lillia. After a few hours of crying, Anna suddenly said she needed to go somewhere. I didn't follow her though, since I respected her privacy," said Manna.

Duke chuckled at the word 'privacy', but the laughter quickly faded when Manna shot her husband a dirty glare.

"But you know…" Manna's loud and confident voice suddenly lowered down to a soft and nervous whisper. "I wished I was right there with her…so I'd know who the killer was!"

"Are you crazy, Manna?" Duke quickly interjected, slamming his fist on the table. "You might've been killed too if you were with her!"

Judging from her rare moment of speechlessness, it was clear that this was the first time Manna realized how uncomfortably close she was to getting murdered as well.

- - -

Night time at the inn felt unusually desolate and bleak, since none of the villagers felt safe traveling after dark anymore. Since he frequently visited the inn to catch a few beers with the local men, Basil thought the inn was lacking a bit of magic and flare tonight. Without the activities and the people feeding the atmosphere, he realized for the first time how lonely and vacant the inn truly was.

But Basil was here at the inn for a different reason. Harris was searching their house for evidence, forcing him and his daughter to shelter at the inn for the time being. Uneasy with this idea at first, Basil decided that it might be best for them not to return to their house right now. He didn't know if his fragile daughter Mary had the strength to live in her mother's memories that haunted their house…

"This'll be your room for as long as you want," said Doug, standing in front of a large unoccupied room at the inn. He handed Basil a small key to unlock the room, and then stood awkwardly in front of Basil and Mary, with consoling words failing to emerge out of his mouth. Finally, he patted Basil sympathetically on the shoulders and left.

Mary cast a crestfallen glance at the two single beds in the room, triggering yet another painful reminder of her mother's absence. She buried her face in her hands, wishing everything that had happened was just a bad dream came true. Basil frowned and embraced his weepy daughter in a silent hug.

"Mary, everything is going to be fine." Basil said at last. "I'm sure your mother is resting peacefully in heaven right now."

"Y-you think so?" Mary asked timidly, slowly pulling herself away from her father.

Basil nodded, staring into her eyes seriously. "She was a great mother and you know it. She raised a strong family and always put us ahead of herself. You know she loved you."

Mary sniffled softly, wiping a few silent tears that rolled down her cheeks. The only thing that would comfort her right now was the belief that her mother's soul rested peacefully in heaven, for all of the good that she has contributed to her family.

An abrupt knock at the door interrupted the heartfelt exchange between his father and daughter. Basil opened the door cautiously, but groaned with dissatisfaction when he saw Harris instead of Doug. He has not been in the best of terms with the police officer ever since Basil got arrested yesterday.

An equally discontented Harris grunted in response, marching inside the room without permission. Strangely enough, he was holding a large drawer that looked as if it was taken directly out of a cupboard. Basil glared vaguely at the item in the police officer's hands, noting in his head that the cupboard drawer looked oddly familiar…

"What do you want?" Basil grumpily asked, using a tone to indicate that Harris was not welcomed.

"I just want to know if you wrote these letters to Anna," said Harris. Picking up several neatly folded pieces of paper, Harris handed them over to Basil to read. Each letter was folded in the shape of a heart and written in crimson red ink.

After a few quick seconds of skimming through the letters, Basil told Harris that he had never seen these letters before.

"Unfortunately, that's what I thought…" Harris sighed heavily.

"Are those letters important?" Mary asked timidly, eyeing the papers with keen interest.

Harris sighed again, sounding a lot more exasperated this time. He stared at Mary with a look of uncertainty, almost as if he was debating whether he should be truthful or not.

"These are passionate love letters found inside your mother Anna's drawer. They were addressed to your mother, and since your father didn't write them…" Harris mumbled unconfidently, watching Mary's face changing by every word. He turned his head away, for he didn't have the courage to look Mary in the eyes as he uttered the last sentence.

"I think your mother was having an affair with another man…"

**To Be Continued**

**Author's Note: **Anyway, the story is finally picking up some pace. Is the murderer's motive introduced, or was that just a tossed bone to throw you off track? You decide. It's also very discouraging to see a lack of reviews for this story! It'd be nice to drop a review and let me know what you think of the story… :( Please and thank you!


	3. Sasha

**Murder in Mineral Town**  
By: Gomamon

**Chapter 3 – Sasha**

She couldn't sleep tonight.

Though she drank several cups of warm milk before going to bed, she realized that the drink didn't have any effect on her at all. She stared mindlessly into the ceiling for the entire night, trying her very best to ignore the faint rhythmic snores coming from the other bed. She wouldn't be able to find the right words to explain her insomnia for tonight, but deep down, she knew that guilt was paying her a nasty night visit.

Guilt was unpleasantly interrupting her slumber to make her think about what she did…

She remembered an anxious feeling dwindling in the pit of her stomach that day. The door was not closed fully, with a gap opening just big enough for her eye to peek through. She knew she was doing something wrong, and she definitely knew she shouldn't be watching this. But when she made sure that nobody was around to see or hear her, she felt safe to catch just one teensy harmless peep.

When she curiously took that brief glimpse through the door gap, she couldn't believe what she saw. It was the naked body of Anna…and…and…and…

- - -

A superstitious man, Jeff couldn't help but wonder if the pouring rain was a sign that the sky was also weeping for Anna's death as well. Dark and dreary clouds hovered ominously in the morning sky as the rain ferociously slashed against the window panes. Jeff had felt queasy ever since he learned about what happened to Anna, so he decided to spend the morning lying in the comfort of his cozy bed, staring lazily out the window.

"You're not making any sense at all!"

"Karen, you're the one who's being totally irrational here!"

The faint sounds of raindrops falling were washed away by the piercing and furious voices coming from another room. Jeff immediately recognized the voices that belonged to her feisty wife and sassy daughter. Both Sasha and Karen were very strong-willed and rather stubborn, so it wasn't rare for them to be butting heads at a disagreement. But Jeff found it hard to believe that they'd be arguing during this traumatic time, and they haven't had a confrontation so intense ever since they found out that Karen had been sneaking off to bar at nights when she was a teenager. A sleepy and curious Jeff slowly got out of bed, slowly stumbling inside the grocery store to investigate the cause.

It was not a pretty sight. Jeff saw his wife and daughter standing at opposite ends of the store counter, glaring at each other as if looks could kill. His wife Sasha had her hands poised to her hips, towering over Karen in an intimidating manner. His daughter Karen looked equally feisty, thrusting her chest forward and looking as if she wasn't ready to back out from whatever they were arguing about. Slowly approaching the two women, Jeff knew from experience that this argument wouldn't be resolved happily.

"What's going on?" Jeff whimpered, barely having the courage to look up at either of them.

"Dad, speak some sense into her!" Karen looked rather relieved at the sight of her father. "Mom wants to open the store for business today!"

"What's wrong with opening the store to earn some money?" Sasha asked, waving her index finger in front of Karen's face.

Jeff swallowed hardly and looked at his daughter Karen for reassurance. Like he usually did with uncomfortable confrontations, Jeff chose to wisely remain neutral and stand idly by.

"Your best friend Anna just died!" Karen was sounding very exasperated. "How could you be so heartless and still open up the store like nothing was wrong?"

"So what, are we supposed to just mope and grieve? We can't go back to our daily routines and everyday lives?" Sasha snapped.

"You changed." Karen shook her head and turned away, "You weren't like this until you've found Anna's body. You used to have a heart!"

Sasha gasped sharply, but before she could return an angry retort at her daughter, there was somebody pounding at the door. Happy to step away from the argument, Jeff quickly ran to open the door. A drenched Harris walked into the grocery store with his equally wet navy blue coat and umbrella.

"Hey Harris, what's up?" Karen asked casually. She immediately noticed the very visible and unflattering eye bags that Harris carried on his face, leading Karen to wonder how many hours of sleep he has gotten since this case started.

Harris couldn't even muster up the energy to fake smile back. He sighed as he stifled a tired yawn. "Hi, hope I'm not interrupting anything. I'm just here for a few more things."

"We'll be happy to help," said Jeff earnestly. His wife Sasha said nothing, but her irritated face expression indicated that she wasn't happy to see the puddle of water Harris had created on the floor of the grocery store.

Harris nodded his head dully, flipping through the pages of his tiny black notepad.

"Okay so…I just want to confirm your whereabouts during the time of Anna's death," said Harris.

"Like we said before…" Sasha said impatiently. "The three of us were at the grocery store. When it was five minutes to two o'clock, I left the store to walk to the Town Square, and then I…I found her body there."

"Rick was at the grocery store too. He was hanging out with me at that time," added Karen.

Jack noticed that Harris was putting three check marks inside his notepad. Does that mean they were clear and proven innocent?

"And if you don't mind, could the three of you please write the words 'I love you' here?" Harris asked, turning to a new empty page in his notepad. He handed his pen and notepad to Sasha.

"Why are we doing this?" Sasha asked suspiciously, slowly picking up the pen and writing the three meaningless words inside the notepad.

But Harris didn't reply back. When all three household members signed in his notepad, Harris made a hasty departure to interview the next house. As soon as he left the grocery store, the argument between Sasha and Karen continued exactly where they left off, much to Jeff's chagrin.

- - -

Since it was raining today, there was no need for Jack to water his countless fields of crops, massively reducing half of his work for the day. The only duty left for him to complete was feeding his animals, and that was something that should take no time. After eating a nutritious breakfast cooked by his darling wife Ann, Jack began to head off to the chicken coop for his daily routine.

But surprisingly enough, Jack didn't get far in his process. Manna was waiting for him outside of his house, holding a bright pink umbrella under the rain.

"Hello Jack, I was just going to buy half a dozen of eggs from your farm, do you mind?" Manna asked rapidly. Before Jack could reply, she was speaking again. "Of course you don't mind. I wouldn't have bothered you normally, but the Poultry Farm was closed today."

Jack stared blankly at Manna for several seconds before a weak strained smile appeared on his face. "Okay, I'll go to the chicken coop and pick out a few eggs for you. Go wait inside the house. I bet Ann will be thrilled to see you."

As Jack dashed off to the chicken coop to collect some eggs, Manna hurried inside Jack's house to shelter from the rain. Inside, she was greeted pleasantly by a chipper Ann, whose pregnant stomach was looking rounder and healthier than ever.

"Ann, you'll never believe what I found out this morning!" Manna gasped delightfully. "I heard a scandalous rumour that Anna might've been having an affair with another man!"

Ann dropped her mouth in surprise. "Oh! Where did you hear that from?"

"I heard it from Lillia, who heard it from Rick, who heard it from Karen…anyway, it doesn't matter." Manna waved her hand dismissively. "But an affair…doesn't that spice up things a little? I could totally imagine a jealous lover shooting Anna to death!"

"Who do you think she might be having an affair with?" Ann asked, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. She then said the first name that popped up spontaneously in her head. "Jeff?"

Manna sneered arrogantly and shook her head.

"There's no way Jeff could be the secret lover. He is too afraid of Sasha to ever do such a thing!" Manna laughed, gesturing a whipping motion with her hand. "But speaking of Sasha…did you know that she thought Basil and Duke were better husbands than Jeff? It's true! I remembered her saying that Basil was the dreamiest guy in the village once!"

Suddenly, her eyes widened in surprise as Manna came into a hasty realization. She clapped both of her hands over her enormous mouth.

"Oh my goodness! What if Sasha murdered Anna out of jealousy? What if Sasha desired Basil for a long time and figured that killing Anna would be the only way to get her man?"

"Don't think like that, Manna. I'm sure Sasha didn't kill her best friend…" Ann looked at Manna uncomfortably.

"Oh, I don't know about that!" Manna rolled her eyes. She turned her head around to check if anybody was there, and then she whispered loudly, "Did you know that Sasha opened the grocery store for business today? She's trying to act as if everything is normal. Don't you think that's just a little strange, considering she only found her best friend's body two days ago?"

Before Ann could reply back, Jack returned with the carton of eggs that Manna wanted and sent the gossipy woman on her way. After she was gone, the house fell into a relaxing silence, but Manna's words still left a huge impact and haunted Ann's train of thoughts for the rest of the day.

What if Sasha was truly the murderer? What if she really had a gun right now, hidden somewhere in the grocery store?

Just when Jack was heading towards the door, Ann mumbled, rubbing her stomach nervously. "Honey…I don't think I'll be going to the grocery store today."

- - -

The rainy and wet morning certainly did nothing to raise Mary's already low spirits. It was Monday today, the usual time of the week when her family would go on a nature hike up to Mother's Hill. All the happy memories flooded Mary's head again at once, smiling at the thoughts of her father Basil teaching her about plants and her mother Anna preparing the most delicious and varied picnic ever.

But now, the hikes and picnics were no more. There would be no more of that, ever.

Despite the horrible weather, her father Basil insisted on hiking up the mountain anyway. Mary preferred to stay in her bed the entire day, wanting to drown in her own denial rather than face the harsh reality. The only person who could remotely cheer her up now was her boyfriend Gray, who coincidentally lived next door at the inn. And just like a knight in shining armour, he entered the room holding a delicious tray of breakfast. Pancakes and maple syrup, topped by a fresh glass of orange juice – it was Mary's favourite.

"Hey." Grey smiled sweetly, placing the tray on a nearby table. "I got you breakfast."

He walked towards the window and pulled open the curtains, frowning disappointedly at the rain outside.

"I know it's a hard time for you, Mary. With your mother and all…" Gray mumbled, looking slightly baffled. He nervously adjusted his blue cap to hide his eyes, an annoying habit that he couldn't grow out of. "I…I just want you to know that I'm here for you, Mary. No matter what happens, I'm here for you."

Mary nodded her head appreciatively. "Thanks, Gray."

"No problem." Gray returned with a small smile.

"Harris came over last night. He told me that Mother was corresponding love letters with another man," Mary said coldly. "Mother was having an affair."

Gray looked stunned. He opened his mouth a few times to speak, but ended up stuttering empty words instead. Mary didn't seem to mind the lack of response, preferring the soothing silence over a barrage of questions. That was one of the many reasons why she loved the company of Gray – he doesn't bombard her with questions when she speaks. Gray listens attentively, and what Mary desperate needs right now is somebody to listen to her story.

"I know Mother wasn't happy in her marriage, and I know that they were heading for divorce eventually," Mary continued. "But I can't believe she opted for an affair with another man…I just can't believe it."

Mary sighed sadly, with a few tears forming at the corner of her eyes. Gray looked hopelessly over her, unsure exactly how to comfort her.

"Marriage is overrated. I learned that two people can't stay in love forever, my parents were the perfect example of that." Mary muttered bitterly. "I don't believe in matrimony. I don't believe in love anymore."

Slowly climbing out of bed, Mary put on her glasses to hide her weepy eyes. "Are you okay, Gray? You look kind of strange…"

Gray shook his head, quickly recovering from the initial shock of what Mary had said. He carefully searched for her hands and tightly grasped onto them. "You don't need to worry about me."

It was a few minutes later when Carter and Mayor Thomas made an unexpected arrival at the room. Both men were wearing black from head to toe, as well as carrying solemn expressions on their faces. Mayor Thomas looked much like his son Harris, exhausted and completely weathered down. It wasn't surprising that he looked like he was falling apart, considering that he has been swarmed trying to attend to the media and the ministries over Anna's death.

"Hello Mary," said Carter in a polite and soft voice. "We need to see your father about your mother's funeral."

Mary painfully closed her eyes. She had not thought about the funeral at all. The mere mention of the word drained all energy from her body, and she suddenly felt the urge to go back to bed and sleep all her troubles away. Gray was mumbling some response to Carter, but the piercing noise of disappointment was the only thing that Mary could hear right now.

"Stay strong, Mary." Carter said. His voice was slowly cracking up. "Have faith. Your mother would want you to have faith."

Gray noticed that Carter was getting a little teary-eyed, snivelling softly under his breath. Beside him, Mayor Thomas was already bawling his eyes out, pulling a black handkerchief out and blowing his nose with it.

"We can come back another time," whimpered Thomas, sobbing between each word. "If you need anything, Mary…just ask and we'll be glad to help."

"Thank you," said Mary very quietly. Gray also nodded his head, putting a comforting hand around her shoulder.

The two men left the room without speaking another word. Thomas walked down the staircase first, silently wiping his stuffy nose with a black handkerchief. His podgy body trembled as he carelessly stumbled down the stairs. Carter followed behind him, but suddenly stopped dead in the middle of the staircase by a soft sound he heard with his delicate ears.

He could hear the faint, miserable sobs coming from Mary's room.

**To Be Continued**

**Author's Note: **The longest chapter yet. We're reaching to the halfway point of the mystery and there should be some subtle signs as to who the murderer is by now. I'm happy with the reviews that I've got so far, but it'd be really nice if I could obtain even more of them from more readers! It encourages me to write more when I see that readers are showing an interest to my story by reviewing. :)


	4. Gray

**Murder in Mineral Town**  
By: Gomamon

**Chapter 4 – Gray**

There was a mass of grey clouds that blanketed the dusky night sky, covering the stars and moonlight from illuminating the deserted streets. Officer Harris was at least grateful that it had finally stopped raining while he finished the last of his patrol around town tonight. His muscles sore, his head aching and his new raincoat ripped; Harris couldn't remember the last time he had a proper meal or when he had more than three hours of sleep. He had dedicated all of his hours investigating on Anna's murder, but with very little rewarding progress.

It wasn't easy being the sole police officer in the village, especially since the safety of all his villagers relied on his flimsy detective skills. Never had Harris experienced a murder case before, giving him little time to adapt the new and troublesome environment. Somewhere in peaceful Mineral Town, a murderer is on the loose with a weapon. Any minute now, the murderer could strike again…and there was nothing Harris could do about it.

He shook his head forcefully. No, he must _not_ think about that.

Finally returning to his house in the late hours, Harris saw pleasant old Barley and his sweet granddaughter May sitting around the table, enjoying a cup of late night tea with his father. It wasn't surprising to see Barley paying a visit, since he was always an active participant in the town affairs. His father Thomas had a lot of responsibility and pressure being the mayor and sole representative of Mineral Town, so he was thankful for any help that Barley could provide for him at a traumatic time like this.

"It's getting late. May and I must get going," said Barley in a gentle tone of voice.

"Oh yes. Yes, it's getting rather late." Thomas nodded his head, reaching out a short stubby arm to shake Barley's hand. "Thank you so much for dropping by. I assure you everything will clear up soon.

Barley gave Thomas a sceptic glance, but did not say anything as he headed for the door. Passing Harris along the way, Barley acknowledged the dutiful police officer with a small nod of head.

"Goodnight then…" Barley said, hesitating to add. "And good luck."

But when Barley opened the door for a late departure, he realized that his granddaughter May was not following behind him. Turning around in astonishment, he saw that May had remained stationary in her seat, and the only movement she was making were her trembling hands. She gawked frightfully at Harris, her face growing pale and her mouth slightly opened. For a brief moment there, it seemed like May was going to say something to him.

"Is there something wrong, May?" The old man asked, slightly puzzled at his granddaughter's behaviour.

May shook her head, snapping out of her temporary trance. She had a fast recovery and no sooner did she leap out of her seat to join her grandfather, making a hasty leave from the house. Too exhausted and busy to inspect on her strange behaviour, Harris tossed in a box of TV dinner into the microwave and sat down beside his father.

"How is the case going?" Thomas asked nonchalantly, although his eyes were firmly planted on some important documents that he was reading. Much like his son, Thomas' normally jovial appearance looked under the weather with his podgy figure slimming, his posture slouching and his heavy eyelids were drooping almost like he could fall asleep on the spot.

Harris also took out his own reading material. His black notepad lied open on the table, which contained all of the signatures of every villager in town. Right beside it were several of the intriguing love letters, written passionately by a mysterious lover of Anna. Harris looked at the items for a few seconds before sighing exasperatedly. He managed to mumble a feeble response for his father. "Not so good…"

Thomas nodded his head slowly, though his eyes were still focused on the pieces of important papers that he was holding.

"I'm comparing the villagers' writing styles to see if they match the ones used in these love letters." Harris explained. He paused, and then sighed again. "But it's so easy to forge writing differently that this type of evidence is totally unreliable. I don't even know why I'm checking this. I'm just so lost in this case…"

Finally looking up from his papers, Thomas saw that his son had closed his eyes and was slowly shaking his head. Hoping to offer some words of comfort, Thomas said, "The city police will arrive by sea tomorrow, just so you know."

Harris immediately tensed up, throwing a rigid glance at his father.

"I don't like the intimidating city police. You know that, Dad," said Harris, suddenly feeling defensive.

Thomas said, looking sheepish. "I just thought it would ease up your workload by a bit."

"Are you trying to hint that I'm not doing a good enough job?" Harris asked and then dropped his aching head into his arms.

"No, don't take it the wrong way!" Thomas shook his head. After seeing his son's uncomfortable response, he instantly changed the subject at hand. "So, what are the letters for?"

Harris took another deep sigh, this time sounding more like a desperate cry for help.

"They're love letters addressed to Anna, but they aren't written by her husband Basil…which could only mean that Anna has a secret lover somewhere in the village. I'm guessing it's one of the married husbands…most likely Duke, Jeff or even Jack."

Thomas raised an eyebrow in surprise. _That_ captivated his attention.

"It could be anybody, really." Thomas proposed, "I wouldn't rule out some of the bachelors of this town either. Rick looks like he has a psychotic streak to him."

"If only it could be that easy." Harris moaned unresponsively, "All the villagers of this town have a proper alibi and witnesses to confirm that they were not at the scene of death at that time."

Thomas put a stubby little finger on his chin for a while, and then he thoughtfully suggested, "The person Anna was having an affair with may not actually be the murderer, you know."

But Harris wasn't paying any attention to his father anymore. In his muscular hands, he held one of the letters and his notepad very closely together to his face. His alert brown eyes narrowed at the papers, cautiously scanning through all of the words. And slowly, he nodded his head as a small hopeful smile crawled across his face.

"This person's writing is very similar to the ones used in the letters," said Harris at last. "Take a look here, Dad."

Thomas took a while reading both articles of paper, but ultimately came to the same conclusion as his son - they both agreed that the writing on the letter and the writing in the notepad was too similar for it to be a coincidence. Harris read the two papers for confirmation again, this time looking slightly beyond belief. Could this be it? Had they really identified the person who was having an affair with Anna?

"Whose writing is this?" Thomas asked in prompt.

"I'm taking a wild guess that it belongs to the murderer," replied Harris, gazing dejectedly at the microwave.

Before he dashed out of the house to investigate again, Harris wore his jacket, grabbed his black notepad in his hand and brought the most vital possession that he had: his gun. He wouldn't go _anywhere_ without his gun.

- - -

A few hours ago, Harris finally permitted Mary and Basil to return to their house again after a thorough search around their house came empty. Now, they were at their inn room packing their suitcases, ready to return home again. But Mary didn't look forward to go home again, unable to accept the burden of knowing that her mother had been in that house a few hours ago before the 'incident'. If only Mary hadn't gone to work at the library that day and stayed by her side all day! She should've known something would be wrong after that huge argument between her mother and father that night. How could she have been so blind to all these implicit warnings?

It took every last bit of courage in her body for Misty to resist the urge to cry again, especially since there were other visitors in their inn room. Along with her father, several occupants of the inn also paid a special visit to help them pack their bags. Cliff and Doug were here to offer their kind services, but it was Gray who Mary was truly glad to see. He was the only person who could give her strength that she needed right now, the only source of optimism that could plough Mary through the fields of despair.

Of all people, Mary knew she could rely on Gray at the very least. He would always be there for her.

"Frankly, I'm a little frightened to stay in this town," said Doug, attempting to start a casual conversation in the quiet room. "I don't blame Lillia for closing the Poultry Farm and wanting to move away."

"They're overreacting," Cliff quipped, dismissing the idea.

Doug ran his finger playfully through his bushy moustache. "It's a very serious matter, Cliff. Nobody could be in possession of a gun in this village except for Harris!"

"Couldn't they have smuggled it into the village?" Cliff narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Or perhaps someone bought it overseas?"

"No way, Zack checks all the shipping and deliveries made into the village," said Doug in a solemn voice. "It's a given fact that nobody could possibly have a gun here without someone noticing!"

Cliff started to rearrange the pillows on the bed, silently pondering over Doug's words for a few moments. Nearby, Basil pretended to be dusting the table, but Cliff could tell that he was also listening attentively to their conversation.

"What about Harris?" Cliff suddenly asked, dropping the pillow that he was holding onto the bed. "If he is the only person in town with a gun, doesn't that make him the obvious suspect?"

Instantly, a ghostly silence filled the room after his words have been said, and everybody in the room turned their heads incredulously towards Cliff. Several disturbed glances were exchanged amongst each other, but none of them knew how to respond to Cliff. Although his suggestion sounded so ridiculous, there also seemed to be some truth in it as well…

"That's crazy talk, Cliff." Basil said at last in a dismissive tone. "It's preposterous to accuse the man investigating the case, and I don't even like the guy."

"Hear, hear." Doug echoed.

Cliff muttered a hasty and insincere apology, avoiding the wary glances in the room. As Mary stuffed her black notebook inside her suitcase, she caught a short glimpse of Cliff. From that one look, she could tell that he was itching to say something, but somehow, the words couldn't escape from his mouth. Something was definitely out of the ordinary with him though. Unlike his usual quiet self, Cliff seemed to be more secretive and jumpy tonight, almost like…almost like that he had a secret to hide.

Mary always had her doubts about Cliff, the unexplainable enigma – everybody did. There was something very strange about the character, a mysterious traveler who just arrived to Mineral Village one day out of nowhere. Since he was a quiet and guarded person, Cliff never shared much about his past with anybody. None of them knew anything about his background or where he came from. There have been rumours spread about him being an escaped convict from the city a long time ago, but they were just silly rumours, right?

Just who was this Cliff person and what baffling past did he leave behind?

Her thoughts about Cliff were abruptly terminated when Harris suddenly barged into the room without any notice. This must've been the umpteenth time Mary saw the exhausted police officer in the past few days. The last time she saw Harris in this room was when he made that shocking revelation about her mother's love affair. Staring uncertainly at the police officer, Mary wondered if Harris was about to make another shocking revelation…

Harris' muscular hand reached for something in his jacket pocket, a peculiar motion which made both Cliff and Gray very alert. But instead of pulling a gun as they expected, Harris had taken out a scroll of paper. On closer look, Mary could see that it was a search warrant, signed by none other than the mayor himself.

"Gray." Harris finally said, in a loud and authoritative voice. "I believe you are in the possession of carrying a murder weapon. I'll need to search your room."

**TO BE CONTINUED**

**Author's Note: **Thanks for the reviews! Just when you think that everything is calm and peaceful, the surprises will just keep coming. In the next chapter, there will be one final and _very_ shocking revelation! Until then, please continue reviewing! I love hearing what you think about the story. :)


	5. May

**Murder in Mineral Town**  
By: Gomamon

**Chapter 5 – May**

Barely tall enough to peer through the clinic windows without tiptoeing, May was happy to feel the sunlight beaming warmly on her face. After a whole day of raining yesterday, it was a pleasant change to finally have nice weather to look forward. As soon as she could leave the clinic, her grandfather barley promised to take May on a sunny stroll to the beach.

She didn't know exactly why she liked hanging out at the beach so much. Perhaps it was because the beach was the last place May remembered seeing her mother Joanna, before she abandoned her daughter May for a faraway place to seek success. Poor May never saw her own mother again, but the naïve little girl strongly believed that some day, her mother will return home again.

The same thing happened to Mary a few days ago. Her mother had also abandoned Mary. But only in this situation, it was certain that Mary and Anna will never reunite again…

"Grandpa, am I going to the church today?" May murmured, shaking the unhappily thoughts of Mary's mother away from her head.

Her grandfather Barley shook his head, responding in a gentle voice, "No. Carter is busy arranging for the funeral tomorrow."

"That's good," said May unconsciously, still gazing out of the window.

Nurse Elli emerged from one of the rooms, carrying a bottle of medicine and a prescription paper containing the Doctor's messy handwriting.

"The Doctor says that May is just feeling a little frightened by recent events," Elli said, wearing a weak smile. "Consume this Bodigizer twice a day before meals, and she should be able to sleep again."

"Thank you, Elli." Barley said. As an afterthought, he added, "You look a little under the weather yourself. You should take a good rest."

The nurse sighed and waved her hand randomly in the air. "It's…it's just tragic that a death has occurred in this village."

Barley nodded his head slowly and surely, as if he was in complete understanding of the nurse's feelings.

"Don't worry, Anna is in peace. After her funeral tomorrow, Anna will be in peace…" Barley muttered, although he doesn't sound very convinced himself.

Turning her attention away from the window, May suddenly asked, "Grandpa, can I stay home tomorrow? I don't want to go to the funeral…"

"That's actually a good idea," said Elli, who was sniffling and trying her best to regain her composure. "The children should probably stay away from the funeral altogether."

May quickly turned her head back to the window, quietly hiding the small guilty smile from her grandfather. It felt like a huge troublesome burden has been removed from her shoulders. She didn't have to go to the funeral. She didn't have to see the cemetery. She didn't have to look at poor, dead Anna lying restlessly in her coffin as her murderer ran loosely around town…

She didn't have to see _him_.

"Carter is a good man for arranging the funeral. He is a good man, I tell you," said Barley in a solemn voice.

"But it must be so hard for Basil and Mary to be going through this," Elli added. "Losing his wife and her mother like this…I could only imagine how painful it was."

Barley made a twitching noise in his mouth, clicking his tongue disapprovingly. "That's why I can't believe the nerve of Harris accusing Basil and Gray as the murderers! At this rate, he's going to arrest everybody in this village."

Elli handed over the bottle of medicine to Barley, gesturing him to the door casually. "I wonder how old feisty Saibara feels when he found out that his grandson was arrested last night. He must've been really angry."

Chuckling softly, Barley headed for the exit. His visibly shaken up granddaughter quickly followed him out the door, her tiny little hands trembling with fear.

- - -

Cliff arrived to work at the winery this morning, just like any other day. Nosy Manna was already waiting for him by the door, tapping her feet impatiently. The moment she saw him arriving, Manna fawned over him like a swarm of bees towards their hive. After all, Cliff was her primary resource to retrieve gossip, somebody willing to report to her any bits of news he overheard at the inn.

"So? What did you hear last night?" Manna asked, her eyelashes fluttering very rapidly. "My sources told me that Harris visited the inn to make an arrest!"

"He arrested Gray yesterday. He searched through Gray's room to find a gun, but of course, he didn't find anything." Cliff said, sounding irritated.

Manna put her index finger on her chin, a gesture indicating that she was thinking very hard. A few seconds later, she asked, "Where was Gray anyway during Anna's death?"

"He was at the mine alone, but Jack and Ann both saw him walking there, so he has witnesses proving that he wasn't at the scene of murder," said Cliff as he stifled a yawn.

Clearly not satisfied with the answer, Manna began pacing back and forth while Cliff headed towards the cellar to start working. Before he was able to go inside, Manna stopped him midway, with yet another suggestion.

"I still think Sasha and Gray are both very suspicious! If I were Harris I would totally inspect their houses…oh my god!" Manna suddenly snapped her fingers, having thought of something. "What if Gray was using Mary to get to Anna? Gray might not actually be into Mary, but her mother instead!"

Seeing the totally serious expression on Manna's face as she rambled on and on, Cliff didn't know whether to laugh or tell her to stop being ludicrous with her speculations. But just then, Duke came out of the cellar, looking annoyed at the lack of productive work done due to the nonsense gibbering going on.

"Duke, did you know that Gray was arrested last night?" Manna asked, eyeing her husband maliciously for his reaction. But surprisingly enough, Duke didn't seem very stunned at the revelation at all.

"Old news," said Duke, waving his hand dismissively. "Harris just released him very early this morning. They searched his inn room and Saibara's house, but they couldn't find a gun anywhere…Saibara is really furious at Harris though and gave him a piece of his mind."

Manna looked slightly crestfallen, stamping her feet on the ground in frustration. In contrast, Cliff actually carried an oddly hopeful expression on his face, as if an imaginary light bulb lit up in his head.

"Hey, what if the murderer isn't a villager from this town?" Cliff asked animatedly, "What if this person, carrying a gun, arrived just out of the blue? And what if Anna was just at the wrong place at the wrong time?"

Duke immediately shook his head at the idea. "There's no way that could happen. You can only arrive to Mineral Town on a ferry, and Zack keeps a list of all the passengers who arrived here. With the exception of Kai, I'm pretty sure it's confirmed that nobody new came to Mineral Town for the last two years."

"The killer has to be a resident in Mineral Town. And this villager has to have a gun," added Manna matter-of-factly.

Cliff looked disappointed at the news, quietly pondering over what Duke and Manna just said. After a short while, he drew a deep sigh, sounding very troubled and unenthusiastic at what he was about to do.

"I have to go," said Cliff hesitantly. He started to run out of the vineyard, ignoring the blank confused looks on Duke and Manna's face as he passed them for the exit.

"Where are you going?" Duke shouted. Standing beside her husband, Manna looked completely awestruck at what Cliff was doing.

It took Cliff several long seconds before uttering a reluctant answer to his employers. Even he was unaware just how much of an impact his next few words were.

"I need to go see Harris. I think I know who the murderer is."

- - -

She tiptoed across the room, careful not to make a single sound to alert them. She was pretty certain that they had not heard her entering the building or crawling around like a guilty mouse. They had not expected her to break out of routine and arrive here so early today. In the hours when they thought nobody would see them, when they thought they were the safest and would never be caught.

To her surprise, the door was temptingly opened, with a large enough gap just for her to catch a tiny glimpse of what was going on. But he had always kept that door locked at all times. What was so different about today that made him change his normal habit?

Curiosity took over. She had to know what was behind that door. Her grandfather had taught her not to spy on people, but she couldn't resist just for this one time. She looked around and there was nobody who could spot her. So she promised herself that she'd only take one tiny harmless peek through the door opening…

And what she saw, she couldn't put it into words. She has never seen anything like this for her entire life. There was Anna, her mature body so naked, so vigorous, and so flexible. At first, her childish naivety blinded her from understanding what was going on. She had never seen Anna in here. She didn't know why Anna suddenly decided to show up in this room.

But then, she saw another person. It was a naked man. It was _him._

Without warning, May just stopped walking and she stood still in front of the clinic door. Her grandfather turned around in alarm, running back to retrieve his granddaughter. But as he grabbed her cold hands, he realized that they were trembling in fear. She was afraid, very afraid.

"What's wrong, May?" Barley asked in the most gentle and compassionate voice as possible.

"I don't want to go to the beach anymore," said May, turning around in a different direction from where her grandfather was heading. But Barley held her arm tightly and stopped her from running away.

Looking worried, Barley scrunched his eyebrows together. "Are you afraid of the Town Square? Don't worry, the dead body is gone. Harris allowed us to walk through the Town Square now."

May shook her head very quickly, mumbling an inaudible answer under her breath. But this only made Barley more concerned about his granddaughter. He kneeled down to look into May's eyes.

"Tell me what's wrong, May." Barley said, sounding more aggressive than before.

"I don't want to go by the church…" May muttered, looking at the ground shamefully.

"Is it because of the cemetery?" Barley asked, laughing nervously. "Don't worry, silly. Poor Anna will rest in peace there."

May shook her head again, refusing to give her grandfather a direct answer.

Barley bit his lips, not sounding very convinced. Still holding tightly to his granddaughter's hand, he lowered his voice into a husky whisper. "Does this have to do with Anna's death, May? D…did you see who murdered Anna?"

"No, it's not that!" May cried, trying her very best to shake loose from her grandfather's grip.

She had remembered staring at them for at least ten seconds, feeling rather numb and senseless as she watched. They might've seen a part of her, she did not know. But when she finally woke up from the trance, she backed away as quickly as possible. She remembered to be careful and not make any noise to interrupt them. And when she finally got outside, she ran. She ran all the way back home without stopping once, not even to say 'hi' to her grandfather as she dashed upstairs. She just leapt straight into her bed and hid.

That day, she promised herself that she would never tell anybody what she saw in the room. But now, she stood in front of her grandfather as he insisted her to tell him what happened that day.

"Tell me, May. Whatever's wrong, you can tell me," Barley whispered, stroking her back gently.

"It happened a few days ago, before she…died." May mumbled. Barley looked taken back at the revelation, but he encouraged his granddaughter to finish.

May coughed and leered away, clearly not wanting to continue the story. "I went to church early that day. I saw that the door to the confessional was open, so I took a tiny peek…"

"What did you see, May?" Barley asked. His husky whisper was almost inaudible.

"I saw Carter and Anna doing it - they were naked and…and…"

May didn't continue with the sentence. She dropped to her knees, with tears running down her pink cheeks. Consoling her with empty words, Barley silently urged his granddaughter to get up.

"D-did I do something w-wrong, grandpa? I'm sorry!" May apologized. For a second, her weepy eyes met with her grandfather's, and then she hastily turned away in shame.

Barley shook his head and patted May on the back. He turned around, still holding onto his granddaughter's fragile hand very tightly.

"Let's go." Barley said, flashing a weak comforting smile to his granddaughter. "We need to go talk with Harris."

**TO BE CONTINUED**

**Author's Note: **It's an ending that's very controversial, so I hope I didn't offend anybody with it. Coming up, there will be one final chapter to resolve all of the unanswered questions. Don't forget to review and drop a comment behind!


	6. Cliff

**Murder in Mineral Town**  
By: Gomamon

**Chapter 6 – Cliff**

Cliff noticed there was something different in the cemetery when he first arrived by the church. In appearance, it was just one more tombstone standing lifelessly amongst the many others, but just the presence of it had an overwhelming effect on Cliff. He suddenly remembered that Anna's funeral was supposed to be held tomorrow…_if_ there is still a funeral tomorrow.

He stood at the entrance of the church, hesitant to walk through the doors. Originally, he had planned to do the _right_ thing. He was supposed to see Harris and make the brutal confessional, selling out a person who is very close to his heart. But at the very last minute, his flimsy heart second guessed himself and Cliff ended up doing what he did best – running away from his problems. Just like how he escaped fromhis hometown years ago, Cliff chose to run away from justice yet again.

When he first arrived at Mineral Town as a mysterious strangerwithouta past, all the doubtful villagers avoided him but Carter. Only he welcomed Cliff with open arms. Only he helped Cliff adjust and adapt to the new environment. The pastor was Cliff's first friend in this village, and he wasn't about to tattle on his first friend, his _only_ friend.

Cliff took a deep breath and pushed open the church doors. He didn't bother knocking, since he knew Carter wouldn't respond. If Cliff knew his friend as well as he thought he did, Carter would probably be locked inside him confessional room right now, asking the Harvest Goddess for forgiveness of his sins.

"Carter, it's me," said Cliff uncertainly as he closed the church doors. He was right, Carter was nowhere in sight. "It's Cliff. Don't worry, I'm alone!"

An uncomfortable silence filled the room for the next few seconds, almost as if Cliff was talking to himself. Eventually, the door opened. Carter slowly walked out, carrying a tight grip to a gun in his right hand. Cliff recognized that gun.

"You know." Carter mumbled in a soft, barely audible whisper. But Cliff wasn't listening; he was too busy eyeing the gun gripped in the pastor's hand. He immediately regretted not bringing a weapon to defend himself. It could be the one mistake that would lead Cliff into the same fate as Anna.

"I knew, for quite a long time." Cliff nodded his head, struggling to stay calm and confident. "You were the only person with a gun, _my_ gun, in the village besides Harris. It had to be you."

Carter didn't say anything. His crestfallen eyes cast upon the church floor, as if it was too ashamed to meet with Cliff's.

"I gave you my gun for safekeeping years ago, when I first came to Mineral Town, trying to escape from my past. You assured me that if I gave up my gun, it would make me feel less hostile with the villagers around here." Cliff continued, "But I would've never thought you will use the gun to…to…to kill."

"It wasn't like that, Cliff." Carter shook his head frantically, mumbling – almost whimpering – something that sounded like a plea. "I didn't intend to…"

"But why?" Cliff asked earnestly. "Why did you kill Anna?"

It probably wasn't the wisest thing for Cliff to say, provoking an emotionally unstable murderer who had a weapon in his hands. But what he said must've hit a nerve in Carter's system. He finally gazed up, lookingfiercelyinto Cliff's raven browneyes.

"I had an affair with Anna for almost two years, but it started long before that." Carter explained, sounding shaky and nervous. "She came to the confessional room daily, venting about her loveless marriage with a negligent husband who loved his career more than he loved his trophy wife. And I listened, very attentively, to all her problems and sorrows. I spent hours learning about her darkest of secrets, divulging into the bottom of her soul."

Cliff stood there numbly, astonished and disgusted with the sudden revelation. If Carter wanted to get a reaction from Cliff, he had succeeded – but Carter wasn't telling his story to get a reaction. He spoke because he wanted somebody to know about the truth.

"She was a very captivating woman. When you spent hours of your life listening to somebody share her most inner, most private, most revealing thoughts with you, you…you start to connect with them. I felt like I've known Anna better than I knew anybody else before." Carter said weakly, shaking his head in remorse. "It didn't take long before I realized that I was falling in love with her. Before I knew what was happening, we were making love passionately every time she visited. For a while, I truly thought I was doing the right thing. I was making her happy. I was driving her misery away. I was her escapade.

"But the situation with her husband grew worse. As they have more and more arguments, her visits grew more frequent and frequent. I knew the situation was getting out of control. Four days ago, she came into the church at noon, looking like an emotional wreck. She wanted to run away with me and leave her family behind. While she was willing to give up her past forty years in order to be with me, I wasn't prepared to tarnish my reputation for her. What type of relationship could a married mother and a pastor have? But she didn't listen to my reasoning, and she refused to accept the truth."

Carter paused, as a few tears silently rolled down his pale cheeks. He turned towards the gun that he was holding in his right hand, his fingers dangerously toying around with the trigger.

"Somehow, she found this gun that I've kept locked away in a drawer. She threatened to shoot herself if I didn't profess my love for her in public. I told her that she was insane and tried to take the gun back." Carter said, pausing again to wipe his teary eyes. "At that time, I couldn't feel my numb fingers, but in the midst of the chaos and confusion, I had unconsciously pulled the damned trigger.

"And she was dead. I had murdered my beloved Anna."

He turned away from Cliff, perhaps not wanting his friend to see him in this reckless state of emotion. He felt too ashamed, he felt too guilt-ridden, he felt too betrayed by what he had done.

"I panicked, because I knew my secret will be revealed if they found her body in this church. It just wasn't the murder – but my relationship with Anna will be displayed all in the open. I was scared, my mind wasn't thinking logically, and I thought naively then that I could cover up the truth." Carter said, with a hint of bitterness (bitter towards himself? Anna?) in his voice.

"What about her body?" Cliff asked, "It was found at the Town Square."

"I knew I needed to get rid of her body from the church, so I cleaned up her bullet wound and mopped up all the blood on the floor. And then, I dragged her body to the Town Square without being noticed. As soon as I got back, Stu and May arrived at the church, ready for their playtime. I did not know then whom I was framing the murder against, as long as I was found innocent."

Carter closed his eyes, his sullen eyebrows frowning in disapproval. He was trying to block out the memories, the words, and most of all, the misery that haunted him each day and night.

"I've got away with the murder, but yet I do not feel relieved at all." Carter said. "It was only when I saw Mary's devastated face, when I heard Mary's heartbroken tears did I truly realize what I did was wrong.

"Here was a woman with a perfect family who loved her, a confused woman who needed guidance at her most desperate time. But instead of helping her, I steered her into the entirely wrong direction, eventually murdering her for my own callous sins. I have spent many sleepless nights, drowning in my own sea of guilt. And when I asked the Harvest Goddess for forgiveness, I could tell that she had lost all faith in me. I don't believe in anything anymore."

Cliff looked at the pastor, looking so fragile and so distraught. No longer did his face resemble the once friendly and harmless pastor that he remembered. This was a different man.

He knew better than to sympathize with a murderer – who was a preaching pastor of all occupations. But Cliff did feel genuinely sorry for his friend Carter. After all, he could've confessed to Harris about his suspicions for a long time, since he did know that Carter was the only person who had a gun. But an emotional Cliff refused to believe it, refused to accept the brutal truth that the friendly pastor could be a heartless murderer. He had tried, tried thinking of different scenarios and tried to come up with other possible suspects. But it was no use – he knew the murderer was Carter, the truth couldn't be hidden.

"I could help you, Carter," said Cliff finally, trying to console the weeping Carter. "You can still confess to Harris. It isn't too late."

"No! It _is_ too late, Cliff." Carter suddenly retorted in a much angrier voice, shocking Cliff into backing a few steps in defence. He lifted his hand, the hand that was firmly holding onto a gun, to level the gun with his head. It was a motion that took only two seconds, but it felt like a miserable eternity has passed for Cliff. "Can't you see what I've became? A monster, an inhuman being, a vile and wretched murderer…"

It took Cliff several seconds before he realized what was happening, but by then all words of persuasion couldn't have changed Carter's mind. He had made up his mind.

"However much redemption I could get from doing this, I only hoped it is enough to give peace to Anna and her family," said Carter, closing his eyes.

And then without hesitation, he pulled the trigger.

**THE END**

**Author's Note: **The mystery is finished. After being dissatisfied with the original ending, I've rewritten this one – ending it with a much darker ending to fit with the story's overall tone. I thank all the readers, especially the reviewers for all their kind comments and helpful critiques! I hope you enjoyed the story. Thank you.


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